A Review: How Would Rick Perry as President Affect Women Nation-wide?

Rachel Farris, well-known democrat and social media expert, writes her opinion about what America will be like for women if Rick Perry is elected to presidency in a humorous and scathing article on her popular blog, Mean Rachel. Farris uses examples of legislation supported by Perry within Texas and takes a guess at what this might look like on a national level, citing such controversial issues as Perry’s stance on contraception; the recent House Bill 15 which now requires women requesting an abortion to first have an ultrasound performed in which the doctor is required to show the image of the baby to the woman and require her to listen to the baby’s heartbeat; cuts to funding in women’s health and education, and more. Farris forcefully presents her arguments as to why a Rick Perry presidency would be detrimental to women. She is convincing and yet still manages to introduce elements of the humorous throughout, making the article an enjoyable read, I think regardless of political stance.

One of the issues mentioned by Farris is the reductions in women’s healthcare funds. As her article is short and to the point, I was interested to research the exact legislation Farris referred to. The results I found were shocking: recent laws have cut the funding for family planning clinics by nearly two-thirds! According to a recent NPR article this is a devastating blow to the underprivileged woman of Texas. "That particular funding was used obviously for birth control, but also pap smears, breast cancer screening, for diabetes, thyroid disorders, anemia [and] high cholesterol," states Dr. Celia Neavel of the People’s Community Clinic in East Austin.

When explaining House Bill 15, Farris cites an article explaining the fact that in many cases the fetus cannot be seen during the early stages of pregnancy without a transvaginal sonogram, an invasive procedure. I am curious as to how the Texas Congress could even pass a bill that makes an invasive procedure mandatory for a woman making a choice to get an abortion during early pregnancy? Furthermore, if the funding for contraceptives is being reduced, how are underprivileged women who are not able to afford more children, able to prevent situations in which they feel an abortion is necessary? Perry argues for abstinence but in a state that ranks third in teen pregnancies, our abstinence education programs simply don’t seem to be doing the trick. It seems to me that if the governor wishes to prevent abortions from taking place, finances should be invested into continued women’s healthcare and education, not taken away from it.

In the article, “A Bold Ban on Hiring Smokers” posted in the editorials of the Dallas Morning News, published on September 27th, the author explains about a recent regulation put into place by the institutions of Baylor Healthcare Systems in North Texas, which places a ban on smoking anywhere on the hospital campus, and on hiring employees who smoke.

The regulation was criticized by those who say that it censures smokers as compared to obese individuals or others who are at increased risk of health problems due to self induced problems. The author presents a powerful argument in favor of the regulation, stating that smoking is, “in a league of its own when it comes to deadly and costly health problems,” as well as citing various sources regarding the impact of smoking, both on the individuals who choose to smoke, and on the economy due to the costs related to a loss of productivity and the increased healthcare costs of smokers.

I say that it is a tremendous step in the right direction. Physicians and healthcare providers have long been encouraging their patients to stop smoking, now there is some “bite” to back up the “bark.” Why shouldn’t a healthcare institution be able to put a ban on something that is not only unhealthy to the individuals engaged in it, but also to the rest of us who choose not to. According to the CDC’s website, more than 126 million non-smoking Americans continue to be exposed to second hand smoke in homes, vehicles, and in public areas. The CDC also reports that nearly 60% of children aged 3 to 11 are exposed to second hand smoke. Why allow this in a medical facility where good health is being promoted and where many individuals already suffer from compromised immune systems due to other health conditions? I say kudos to Baylor and I hope that other institutions will soon follow suit in creating clean air and smoke-free environments for non-smokers to enjoy. As the author of this editorial suggests, it’s time we put action to our words and make concrete steps towards encouraging healthy lifestyles in Americans, not to mention preventing the expense exacted on our healthcare system by one of the leading causes of death nationwide.

Source: URL, http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20110927-editorial-a-bold-ban-on-hiring-smokers.ece

Public Education Budget Cuts

Budget cuts introduced in the recent 82nd Texas Legislature take on form and face in an article by Morgan Smith of the Texas Tribune. The issue of public school funding has been one that has plagued Governor Rick Perry throughout his time in office and will, more than likely, continue to be an issue as we move into the future. The article, which can be found at http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/public-education/tk/, states that there will be an unprecedented $4 billion dollar reduction to state funding of public schools and an additional $1.4 billion dollar cut in discretionary grants for public education. The article presents an interesting view of the legislation implemented by Rick Perry in the arena of education over the years, and his well-known distaste for federal government involvement in public education; a distaste which led to Perry’s refusal to sign on to the common core-curriculum standards being introduced throughout the country in 2009. The price for this refusal was somewhere in the range of $700 million in grants. With a ranking as low as #49 in average verbal SAT scores among the nation, #46 in average math SAT scores, and #33 in teacher salaries, according to Susan Comb, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, it seems to me that maybe it would behoove our governor to concede that the state simply cannot afford to suffer another budget cut in the area of public education.

The article also provides an interesting view on how Rick Perry’s decisions in education are likely to affect how this issue is addressed in the presidential campaigns and elections to come.